Do you love…yourself?

When you think of the word ‘love’, what do you think of?
Love for your children, love for your partner, parents, dog, cat, planet?
Almost everyone and everything else but yourself?!

To love yourself means to accept yourself and come to terms with those aspects of yourself that you cannot change.
It means having self-respect, a positive self-image, and unconditional self-acceptance.

First, we need to be aware of how we feel about ourselves.
Have you ever thought about whether you love yourself? This has nothing to do with being arrogant, conceited or thinking that you are better than anyone else!
Do you feel you are a worthy person? A failed person? A bit of both? Do you constantly judge yourself?
Do you feel like you are worthy of self-nurturing, even if you have ‘failed’ at something or done something ‘wrong’?
Can you forgive yourself? Do you feel worthy of others’ love? These are important questions to ask.

No one is perfect. We all have strengths and weaknesses. We have all made mistakes.

Know That You Are Not Your Worst Mistakes.

Others will love you more readily if you love and accept yourself.
Until you love yourself, you will not be able to feel true, abundant love for others. Instead, your “love” will be possessive and needy because you are seeking acceptance and love from another instead of yourself. You can only love another to the degree that you love yourself.

“Love yourself—accept yourself—forgive yourself—and be good to yourself because, without you, the rest of us are without a source of many wonderful things.”
~Leo F. Buscaglia

How do you learn to love yourself?
At first, this may seem egotistical. But it isn’t. Self-love and acceptance are the egos acting out in a healthy way.

• Don’t sit around and wait for approval from others. Work on your personal growth and development. What aspects of yourself do you not particularly like? Are they something you can work on?
• You are the only ‘you’ that you have, and being the ‘best you can be’ gives you something positive to work towards. And something positive to share with others.
• When you love yourself, you endeavour to care for yourself physically, mentally and emotionally.

Why not start the day by looking in the mirror and saying, “I love you, my perfectly imperfect self!”. Then take a deep breath and carry on. It might seem a silly thing to do, but it can be quite effective in helping you to love and accept yourself.

We are all doing the best we can with what we’ve got!
What are you doing for yourself?

You know where I will be…
SEE YOU ON THE MAT!
DOROTHY xo

Since 2002, Dorothy Price, founder of Santosha Yoga Retreats, has been dedicated to providing beautiful havens for recharging the spirit. As an experienced yoga teacher with over 10,000 teaching hours, Dorothy consistently provides thorough, knowledgeable and compassionate teaching as well as inspiration for living well.

She invites you to join in one of her rejuvenating retreats and deepen your practice, whether a beginner or an experienced yogi.
See my retreats here.